


The Call of Alternian Duty

by Arualiaa



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Amnesia, F/F, F/M, Gen, I don't know, Kinda?, M/M, Sadstuck, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2017-12-22 23:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/919187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arualiaa/pseuds/Arualiaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The game has finally ended, and they have won! The kids are happy to return to this brand new Earth, but something has gone wrong. The trolls have forgotten about everything! In fact, it seems like they have never played the game in the first place!</p><p>One night, young troll Karkat Vantas gets contacted by a member of an unknown species who seems to know him. What will he do, considering that he's in a military ship and not reporting that would get him culled, but this subject is shady and suspicious enough to serve as a excuse to get culled anyways?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alive

“We... made it alive!” Jade said. “I can’t believe it… we… did it!”

“No shit, Harley.” Dave replied, trying to don’t lose his calm sarcastic façade. “Lord English is still beating our asses, this is just a dream bubble, you were knocked out.”

“Ha-ha, you are so funny, Mister Asshole” The Witch retorted, sticking her tongue out. “Hey, look! Our wounds! They have healed!”

John sighed, and managed a tired smile. They did it. Their session was somehow restored. They were back on Earth. At home. Finally. He looked at his friends fondly. It felt so great, to have that background noise. They looked like normal teenagers, like the kids that they used to be. The Heir of Breath looked at their surroundings: they were in the middle of a forest. The air smelled like grass and leaves (was that sound a river?) and he played with the breeze a little bit, making it move his hood. He still had his powers, good. The sky’s orange was dimming, and the air felt cold. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

“Hey, where are Jane and the others? And the trolls?” He asked turning around, only to find Rose sitting on the dirt.

“Jane, Jake, Dirk and Roxy are probably in their own version of this universe, on their alternate Earth. If everything has gone according to our plans, they should.” She explained, patting her bright orange dress. “However, I don’t know what might have happened to the trolls. Their dimension merged with ours when creating the Green Sun… maybe they are in an alternate reality, maybe they weren’t born, maybe…” She sighed, sadness in her violet eyes. “Let’s… just hope that they are safe, and back in Alternia.”

“Rose…” Jade put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, her dog ears flattening. “She’ll be alright. We’ll try to contact them later, okay? But first things first, do you guys know where we are?”

“It’s… a forest?” Dave said, lifting his iShades up a bit.

“Wait… it seems familiar to me. I think it’s close to my house. Yes… it’s the forest that caught fire when I got John into the game.” The Seer explained.

“Then, let’s go to your house! We need a rest, it’s been hard for all of us.” The Heir said.

“Understood, leader” Rose smirked, starting to walk.

“Okay, leader!” Jade laughed, following the Seer.

“Hey, we’ve been over this, I’m not-“

“Shut up, leader” The coolkid interrupted him, and grabbed his arm, forcing him to follow Rose too… walking backwards.

When they arrived at the main door of Rose’s house, she stopped, staring at it. Of course. She didn’t have the keys captchalogued. Why would she? The world had ended, she thought she wouldn’t need them anymore.

“Oh, just wait a second. Let me fix this” Jade said, and suddenly disappeared in front of their eyes.

“What the…?” Dave muttered, and the Witch opened the door from inside, with a bucktoothed grin so similar to John’s.

“Make yourselves comfortable, as if you were at home” She giggled.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Rose quirked an eyebrow at her, with an amused expression.

They all laughed at the situation, and proceeded to get inside. None of the game constructions were there, and all of the damage that the house had taken was gone too. It was like SBURB had never taken place. John sat down on a nearby couch, next to a crocheted monster doll dressed in a princess outfit. He guessed that it was the thing Rose prototyped her kernelsprite with, as it reminded him of some of the monsters they encountered. He didn’t want to think about that now. The Heir closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of relaxation without so much weight on his shoulders.

Rose had gone to the kitchen to check how much food they had, and Dave was talking to Jade. What were they talking about? John focused again.

“…so don’t laugh at me, you asshole!” The raven-haired young woman growled.

“But it’s hilarious! How are you even gonna hide those?” The Knight chuckled.

“It’s not my fault that my ears are still there! Besides, why are you just noticing now?”

Oh, so they are speaking about that. Sure, if they were going to get into society again, that would be a problem. John sighed, and made sure that his Serious Business Goggles were still working. He stopped using the Cosbytop Earmuffs a while ago, because the holograms displayed the conversations for everyone to read, and that didn’t feel right somehow. And that was a right time to have his vision blocked, as they were safe now.

He scrolled through his Chumroll, and all of them were online except Rose. Of course, she wasn’t wearing her Hubtop Band. Another Chumhandle was online too: timaeusTestified. He clicked on it.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 22:15--

EB: hey! dave’s bro, are you guys safe in your own dimension, the universe we finally created for you or whatever?

TT: That feels weird, my name is Dirk, dude.

EB: you know that to me you are still dave’s bro, but that isn’t the point!!!!!!!! are the four of you alright? do you remember everything and have your godtier powers?

TT: Yeah, we do, I think. We are at Jane’s, don’t worry.

EB: oh god, janey! how is she? is she alright? is my... uh, her dad there?

TT: She’s sleeping on the couch. And yes, he is, he made it here. Calm your shit.

EB: consider my shit calm. but, um, dirk...?

TT: Yeah?

EB: could you tell him... that his alternate son misses his alternate self? uh, that sounds weird.

TT: Sure man. Don’t worry.

EB: thanks.

TT: He says that he’s sorry that his alternate self didn’t make it. And that he’s proud of you. He’s baking a shitload of stuff.

TT: Hey wait, are you alright?

John missed his dad. He really missed him, but he was glad that Jane had hers. His nanna deserved it.

EB: heh, yeah, don’t worry, dirk. i just miss my dad a lot, i’ll be fine.

EB: well, in a while i’ll have to check on the trolls. by the way, you really sound like rose, because of your fancy typing and tt handle :B

TT: That’s not fancy typing. It’s typing correctly, man.

EB: yeah, whatever haha. but now seriously, did we succeed? like, did your session sucessfuly create an universe?

TT: Of course it did. It was the universe Lord English came from.

EB: wait, what? oh, shit. you’re right. in paradox space everything is its own cause and consequence, or so i’ve been told. that means that you’ve created the cause of why post-troll’s universe was created, so they could create us and we could create you, just to create that universe in the first place. so confusing, man!

TT: Yeah, I know right.

EB: but what happened to that universe then?

TT: As far as we know, it stopped existing. It might still be out there, though. We gotta be careful, but it seems that we are finally out of the loop now. Killing the Big Green Asshole got us out of it, I think. It wasn’t something that we were supposed to do, so we broke the chain.

EB: i reeeeeeeeally hope so! ugh, this is still confusing. i’ll have to discuss it with the others to see what they think. but now i have to check on our alternian buddies! bye.

TT: Later.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 22:36--

Anyways, it was nice just to talk, not caring about what would happen next. He sighed contently, and proceeded to check on the trolls. They were all offline. He tried clicking on Karkat’s handle, to see if he could message him offline. His handle was another color. Huh, weird.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:37--

EB: karkat?

EB: are you guys alright? did you make it safe?

EB: i know that you won’t see this immediately, but when you do...

EB: please answer as soon as possible, we’re worried :(

EB: woah, it reeeeeeeeally feels weird to message you like this, without your grey walls of all caps text!

EB: but i was thinking about something... it may not be possible, but i wonder if vriska and your other friends could be alive again? you know, like a second chance. meenah, aranea and the others, too... it would be nice.

EB: anyway... I hope to see you soon, karkat! or read you. heheh.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:45--

Okay, now all that there was left, was to wait. John turned his glasses off, and looked for his friends. Rose was already there, telling Dave that they had some food, exactly the same amount as she had when she started playing the game. Jade was in front of a mirror inspecting her ears.

The Heir cleared his throat. “Guys.” He immediately earned their attention. “I talked to Dirk. The other kids are fine, in their own universe, but fine. They are basically in the same situation as us. But… the trolls aren’t online. I messaged Karkat, but I got no answer”

“I suppose time will tell” Rose sat on the sofa.

“The guy’s probably too busy yelling his horns off to even pay attention to the computer, so s’alright,” Dave said, but with a fond smile on his face. They had gotten really close.

“Wait… where are the sprites now?” Jade questioned, a worried look on her face

“The sprites… ‘Rez told me something about how all the sprites in their session vanished in the air after they beat the game…” Dave took his shades off, and rubbed his eyes hesitantly.

“Oh no…!” Rose whispered, eyeing Jade and covering her mouth with a hand.

“Guys.” The Heir changed the topic before Jade could think about Davesprite and get upset. “How are we going to live? I mean… we only have boondollars, we are alone, and we don’t even know if this is still the same society that we used to know, just look at the post-scratch Earth…”

“I’m sure that this is Earth as we used to know it, but you are right,” Rose reasoned, her Seer instincts kicking in. “Money won’t be a problem since my family had lots of it, but re-entering society would be easier if we had a job.”

“But… look at my ears! How am I supposed to hide those?” Jade exclaimed. “At least I don’t have a tail, but…”

“Let me see those, Jade” Rose examined Jade’s head closely. “Maybe we could tie them close to the head and cover them with hair, or maybe fake hair… I could help you dye them black to hide them even better…”

“I think it could work! Thank you, Rose!” Jade gave her a bucktoothed smile, and her ears perked up, surprising the Seer.

“You’ll have to control that, though.” The blonde replied, releasing a quiet chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 1/20/2014  
> So I finally learned to format Pesterlogs! Also, I found it amusing that I had to underline Lord English, and the tag for it is uu. Heh. Get it. Hehehe. Okay, I'll just shut up now.
> 
> EDIT 2/11/2014  
> ChibiEdo has helped me correct some grammar issues. You're the best! :D


	2. A normal day, in a normal ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat is contacted by a strange individual.

“Kaaarkleees…!” A tealblood’s sing-song voice echoed in the dimly lit corridor. “Come on, get ready before I come in.”

“DON’T YOU DARE, TEREZI!” Yelled a voice from inside a room “You fucking…  ARGH! It’s still bright outside! What the hell???”

“I thought we could be early to breakfast today! That bitch always gets to have the best stuff on the table!” Terezi complained.

“I don’t care about your black flirtations with Serket, just let me sleep in peace!” The cancer grunted, and submerged his head back into the sopor slime.

Terezi opened the door wide, and poked the recuperacoon with her cane. Karkat yelped in surprise, and lifted his head quickly.

“What the…?” Karkat shook his head “barkbeast-style” to get rid of the slime, but it was still dripping from his hair. “Terezi, GET OUT!”

“Okay, okay, I’ve got no interest in seeing your nook,” Terezi grinned, showing her sharp teeth. “Well, smell!”

“Ugh, gross, and don’t make jokes about that! You should be the one saying this, for the Sufferer’s sake,” the Cancer grumbled, slowly sitting up.

“And YOU shouldn’t say things like that, Karkles.” The tealblood adopted a more serious tone, as she turned around to face the wall. “He’s taboo in ancestor history, and you shouldn’t bring him up. Especially because people may notice how similar your symbol and the one that people associate him with are.”

“I know, fuck, I know. I only mention him around you and Kanaya, though.” He made sure that Terezi was turning around. It didn’t matter much, as she was blind, but it was like a tradition between them. When she came to wake him up, she’d always turn around while he was half-naked to make him more comfortable. It was like their twilight ritual. Anyone would have said she was his moirail instead of Kanaya Maryam, but they weren’t in any quadrants anymore. “I’m not THAT stupid to blow my cover so easily.”

The Libra sighed, hearing how Karkat got outside of the recuperacoon, pushed the button that drained the slime and refilled it fresh new from the tank, opened the ablution block’s door and closed it shut behind him. The smell of hot water filled her nostrils. “Just reminding you! You know most of us wouldn’t mind, but…”

“…but I’d be culled on the spot by fucking anyone in this ship that happened to pass by” The Cancer’s muffled voice finished. “I’m fucking aware of this, Terezi. It’s the same fucking mantra every dawn when I go to sleep.”

Inside the cleaningblock, Karkat dried himself with a towel, and then wrapped it around his waist. Outside, Terezi was waiting for him while sitting on a chair, with a thoughtful expression, and eyebrows clenched in worry. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. All that there was to say had been said, during that long sweep in the huge Alternian warship in where they had been bound in their obligatory military service. Karkat patted Terezi on the shoulder, and her head perked up.

“Please pardon my manners, I do not mean to disturb you, miss Pyrope” He said in an excessively polite tone. That same tone he was supposed to use with people of her caste in public, but the Libra was fully aware that it was sarcastic, as every time he talked to her like this in private “But it so just happens that your highness is sitting ON MY FREAKING IRONED CLOTHES.”

“Oh? Sorry, Karkles, I didn’t notice that was your wardrobe chair!” Terezi grinned, the mood lightening again. She stood up and faced the wall again, taking the hint that he wanted to dress up. “It was too comfortable, now that I think of it!”

“Oh no, no, no, Terezi. You are leaving now. If you can’t see-“

“I can’t see anything, asshole!” Pouted the tealblood, poking his ribs with her walking cane. It was a fake pout, of course.

“Ouch, okay, okay! If you can’t _notice_ , I’m about to put some fucking clothes on before I disgust myself any more at the sight of my mutated ass, and I’d like you to get yours out of my respiteblock” Karkat frowned, folding his arms.

“If you ask it like that, I’ll be more than happy to oblige,” she smirked, and got out of the room, closing the door behing her.

The mutantblood sighed, finding himself alone in his respiteblock again. He finally got some peace! Karkat proceeded to get rid of the towel, and put on some underwear and his grey pants. That color reminded him of much easier, simpler times. He looked at the burgundy color the symbol on his shirt was printed in, before putting it on. He had to fake who he was, now. He was used to hiding it, but lying? Absolutely not. But he had to. It was going to be like this for all of his probably short lifespan.

He tied the laces in his shoes and put on his now trademark jade shades. It wasn’t an uncommon thing for trolls to wear distinctive accessories as a statement of uniqueness, and he took advantage of that. Nobody would suspect that behind those aviators were a pair of vibrant shaded, disgusting, candy red circles highlighting his soon mature irises. By wearing his moirail’s blood color, most midbloods and higher lowbloods took the hint and left him alone, fearing repercussion from the jadeblooded part. Kanaya had always been amused by this, and a little bit flattered, but she didn’t complain, as it was usual customary for moirails to wear the higher part’s color.

He put on his wristcrab while yelling “Yeah, yeah, don’t break the fucking door, I’m ready!” and joined the Libra.

After breakfast (and Terezi and Vriska having a huge and loud fight over a simple grub sandwich) it was time for regular training routine. Karkat hated being a lowblood because that meant he could never be a strategist. He knew he could be up to the job, and in addition, that would mean that he would never lay his feet on a battlefield, where he could get wounded.

But he had to pose as a burgundyblood, so all that he could aspire for were the toughest positions. If he didn’t die in the battlefield, he would die at the first sight of his cursed blood. He wouldn’t have the chance to see his 10th wiggling day.

Luckily, he managed to become an alright fighter, and an excellent dodger. He got praised multiple times by his superiors (That was a good job for a maroon, recruit. Keep doing it like that and the threshecutioners may let you join them) and overall, passed unnoticed. He wasn’t a powerful psionic, he didn’t have brute force, or incredible combat skills. He was only somewhat agile.

When the training was over (that girl had been tough, her brownblood psionics had been a great threat), and only then, Karkat let himself have a little rest. His muscles felt sore, he was tense as always. It was the only sensible response, as something as simple as daily training was a constant threat. If he as much as breathed the wrong way, that meant his instant death. A sound distracted him from his anguish-filled thinkpan. His wristcrab made a little beep, and he checked his Trollian. Who the fuck was it? They could talk to him face to face already!

\--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:37--

EB: karkat?

EB: are you guys alright? did you make it safe?

EB: i know that you won’t see this immediately, but when you do...

EB: please answer as soon as possible, we’re worried :(

EB: woah, it reeeeeeeeally feels weird to message you like this, without your grey walls of all caps text!

EB: but i was thinking about something... it may not be possible, but i wonder if vriska and your other friends could be alive again? you know, like a second chance. meenah, aranea and the others, too... it would be nice.

EB: anyway... I hope to see you soon, karkat! or read you. heheh.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:45--

What the hell? Who was that indigoblood that seemed to know so much about his life? What was that nonsense he was babbling about?

**\--carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB] at 22:48-- **

ectoBiologist [EB] is an idle chum!

CG: HIGHBLOOD, MAY I ASK WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU KNOW MISS SERKET AND MYSELF?

CG: ALSO, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHEN REFFERRING TO MAKING IT SAFELY?

CG: I’M AFRAID YOU MUST HAVE MISTAKEN ME FOR ANOTHER TROLL, LORD.

ectoBiologist [EB] is no longer an idle chum!

EB: ...karkat?

EB: don’t joke like that, dude! we were really worried!

EB: are the others alright too? rose is worried sick about kanaya, and i can tell that dave is also looking forward to talk to terezi

CG: I’M SORRY, HIGHBLOOD, BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD TELL ME HOW YOU GOT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.

CG: DON’T GET ME WRONG, PLEASE, IT’S JUST THAT MY SUPERIORS WOULDN’T LIKE IT IF WE HAD SECURITY PROBLEMS IN THE DATABASE.

EB: okay, karkat, this isn’t funny anymore!

EB: tell me what happened, please!

CG: HIGHBLOOD, I ASSURE YOU THAT THIS ISN’T A RUSE OF ANY KIND. I DID NOT INTEND TO OFFEND YOU IN ANY WAY.

EB: ........

EB: what have they done to you?

CG: NO ONE HAS DONE ANYTHING TO ME, LORD.

EB: oh my god oh my god oh my god do you have amnesia? is that it? that’s why you are speaking all fancy and polite and in this color and please tell me that you remember playing sburb with us

EB: no wait, sgrub. that’s how yours was called right?

CG: I HAVE NEVER PLAYED SUCH A GAME, LORD. AND TO BE HONEST, IN CASE SOMEONE OF MY LOWLY STATUS HAS THE RIGHT TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THIS SITUATION IS BECOMING UNCOMFORTABLE.

EB: oh god oh god oh god then you don’t remember ANYTHING at all? it’s me, john!!!!!!!!

CG: FOUR LETTERS? THAT IS QUITE A UNIQUE NAME, SIR. 

EB: karkat! i’m not a troll! i’m john egbert, your palhoncho, your friend, please remember! we’re buddies, dammit!

CG: WAIT, DID YOU JUST SAY YOU ARE NOT A TROLL?

EB: of course not! i’m a human, what else would i be?

CG: ...I BEG YOU FORGIVENESS MR. JOHN EGBERT, BUT I MUST INFORM MY SUPERIORS ABOUT THIS.

\--carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB] at 22:55--

That was the strangest log Karkat had read in his entire lifespan. He hurried to catch Commander Ezumel before he went upstairs.

“Commander! Can I have a moment of your attention, please?” He called out, trying not to raise his tone of voice. The blueblooded troll in front of him turned around, a stoic expression on his face. He was a middle-aged troll for his caste, and had rectangular-shaped horns.

“What it is that you want, Karkat?” He never called the lowblooded recruits by their first name, but that kid had grown on him. He seemed to have a natural leader aura around him, even if he tried his best at obeying the hemocaste protocol.

“There may have been a problem with the database, sir” The Cancer said, catching his breath. Once he had regained composure, he pulled his dark green shades up with one clawed finger, straightening them. “I have just been contacted via Trollian by a stranger who seems to know too much about the base and its occupants. This stranger also said that he knows me personally, but I never heard of him before.”

“Are you sure it isn’t a joke of some sorts? Maybe one of your friends made a fake account” The commander observed, with a thoughtful expression. “I’m quite aware of that ceruleanblood Serket and her fondness for this kind of ruses”

“I highly doubt it, Commander” Karkat shook his head. “It was a very strange conversation. The subject in question said that he was a member of a species that isn’t documented if it exists. Also, he was typing in bright blue, and if he isn’t a blueblood it should be reported. The whole conversation was just unbelievable and didn’t feel right.”

“Don’t worry, kid. Someone was probably trying to pull your horn, but if they are typing in a color that isn’t their own, it will cause them some serious trouble.” Ezumel’s gaze turned serious. “Come with me, and we’ll settle this. We’ll force their device’s viewport, and see if our dear ‘alien’ is breaking the law or not” He quoted the word alien with his fingers.

Karkat followed the older troll, until they arrived at the nearest technology block. He was almost hoping that Sollux would be there, but he was one of the few lowbloods working in the mainframe’s block. He mentally slapped himself, as the commander was giving instructions to a young tealblood with small curvy horns, a little bit older than Karkat, who started typing quickly. Karkat bowed his head as the protocol said, and saw a tag dangling from her neck. Namuna Ranekut, hackotechnician. Not that it mattered: referring to a highblood by anything but the formal title or military rank would get his sorry ass culled, even if that woman seemed friendly enough.

“You need to log in with your account now” She pointed at the screen with a turquoise-painted claw.

“Of course, miss” He hurried to the keyboard, head bowed, and quickly typed his trolltag and password. The stranger’s messages filled the screen in a new window.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:55--

EB: karkat! karkat!!!!!!!!!!

EB: don’t leave please!

EB: uuuuuuuugh

“That _does_ sound like Miss Serket’s typing quirk. If it is her, she will have to face her superiors about this” Commander Ezumel pointed out.

\--carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB] at 23:25--

CG: MR. JOHN EGBERT. 

CG: ...ARE YOU STILL THERE? 

EB: yes! yes i am!

“Now, we’ll see his pretty face… or hers!” Namuna narrowed her gaze, grinning in euphoria. It was obvious that she liked her job. She took Karkat’s place, and started running a command. A window popped out: the other party’s device didn’t have a camera. “Oh, dang. You’ll have to tell them to change devices, maroon, or I won’t be able to help”

“Okay, I’ll do as needed, miss” Karkat cursed silently. Only this could happen, with his luck.

CG: MAY I ASK YOU TO SWITCH TO ANOTHER DEVICE? THE CONNECTION IS UNSTABLE. 

EB: oh, really? weird... uh, okay, hold on

\--ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 23:26--

\--ectoBiologist [EB] has disconnected--

There was an awkward wait, before another beep got their attention.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 23:29--

EB: i borrowed rose’s laptop, i hope this is better

“Much better, I assure you” The tealblood muttered to herself, running the command again. But she didn’t expect what popped up, covering the screen. None of them did.

The commander Nerbar Ezumel took his uniform hat off, stunned, as he stared at the pale-skinned, hornless creature that was on the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo the plot begins! I hope you are enjoying it so far :) The interesting part hasn't even begun yet, but I'm working on it!
> 
> As always, I appreciate any suggestions and criticism.
> 
> EDIT: Formatting this chapter has been a pain in the ass, but totally worth it!
> 
> \------------------  
> Thank you Chibiedo for the betaing, you ROCK! :D


	3. Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John delivers the bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY sorry that it took so long! School and other stuff got in the way. I'll try to update more frequently from now on.

John sighed, and logged off. Karkat had stopped answering about ten minutes ago, after all. His connection, probably.

He put Rose’s laptop down, and tried to catch his friends’ attention.

“Guys… I have to tell you something” The Heir called out.

Rose, who was busying herself with her hubtop band, glanced at him with her other eye. Dave started to nudge Jade, who had fallen asleep on his lap.

“Karkat doesn’t remember us, and I’ve got the feeling that none of the trolls do. I just talked to him, and it’s like… the game never happened for them.” The teenager uttered, looking down.

“Nngh… what…?” Jade yawned, her eyes tearing up.

Rose’s mouth fell open. Dave took his shades off in disbelief.

“Please tell me that this is another prank of yours, John” The Knight looked at John in the eye, searching for any hint that it was a joke. He didn’t find it.

“It doesn’t seem a joke, Dave” Rose said, biting her lip. “And… I guess it could have happened. When we destroyed both our universes they somehow merged in one, the one we are currently on… I’m quite not sure about… how could that happen, though…” She tried to keep her calm demeanor, but tears started filling her eyes. “Oh… I’m sorry…”

“Rose… it’s okay” The worried Heir sat by her side, and put an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe they will remember eventually…”

“But Kanaya…” She muttered

“Hmm…?” The Witch shook her head, her ears twitching a little “Whaaaaaaaohahhh“ Her attempt at speech was interrupted by a yawn. “What’s wrong, Rose?”

“TL, DR: the good news is that the trolls are okay. The bad news, is that they seem to have… forgot everything” Dave tried to joke, but his voice faltered at the end

“Did you seriously spell ‘Too Long, Didn’t Read’ out loud while saying something like that, Dave?” The other boy replied, while stroking Rose’s hair. The latter, surprisingly, let out a strangled laugh.

“Let him be, John. He’s… Dave” She managed to say, regaining her composure a little, and wiped her eyes, smearing the mascara on them.

“What…?” Jade’s eyebrows furrowed “How could this even happen…?”

“Rose thinks it’s because what happened with our universes. Space is your thing, you should be able to understand it better” John muttered

“To a certain degree. I’m a witch, not a seer or a mage… oh nooo…! Feferi… and Karkat!” Jade gasped. “Did Karkat forget too?”

“…yes. Yes, he did. Unless he was playing the best prank in the history of forever.” John sighed, running a hand through his hair, worry winning over his features. “I just talked to him. They seem to be in kind of... a organization?”

“Terezi told me that when they got older, they were supposed to leave Alternia to do military service, and then choose a way to serve the empire. That stuff” The Knight of Time explained. Without his aviators, his worry was evident too. “Maybe the world didn’t end for them, and they went on with their lives as expected…? Fuck… this is… so wrong.”

The atmosphere felt heavy, and they all submerged in their own thoughts. Silence came, with its tense grip.

“Guys… I think we need some sleep. We’ll be able to think better tomorrow” The Heir broke the silence.

“John is right… and I’ve got three guest rooms. It would do us good to rest.” Rose agreed.

And with that, they followed her upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it was kind of short. But this story is long and I was aiming for a slow build, specially at the beginning.


	4. The aliens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her Imperious Condescension makes a decision about the new discovery.

“I… oh my.” The tealblood had stopped typing, and one hand was covering her mouth. “It’s so… troll-like!”

“Her Imperious Condescension needs to hear about this. I’ll inform that there is an unconquered planet with an intelligent life source, and particularly, the most trolloid species we have ever found” The commander turned around, facing Karkat “Good job, I’ll make sure that people up there take this into consideration. You did the right thing, kid.” And quickly left.

…did he? Karkat needed to think. He uttered a thank you and good bye to the young woman on the keyboard, and absconded from there too. Did he just doom an entire species- heck, an entire _planet_ to annihilation or at the least slavery? He just couldn’t wait for Feferi to take the throne already and end the empress’ sweeps of horror.

That John guy was legitimately an alien, and he seemed to know him. He was nice enough, even if he was babbling about some nonsense that he couldn’t piece together. Oh no… what had he done? Did he just become a pawn to the society he hated so much?

Damn it. He couldn’t solve that big mess that was his thinkpan on his own.  He needed his moirail, and he knew where to find her.

 

In another place, an empress had received a message recently. An interesting one, apparently. But she didn’t see the difference: just another minor planet. Yeah, yeah, adding it to the list, whatever. She crossed her legs and rested her head on the table in front of her, her lips sticking out in an exaggerated pout in quite the un-royal manner, if one were to see her. But she was alone, so the image that she had to uphold was going to remain intact. The empress was pretty bored, in fact. She yawned and stretched her full body, starting to consider the idea of taking a quick nap, when another message popped up. Oh, man, what now?

She quickly changed her mind when she actually read it. It was from the same ship as the last time, from some random commander on the lower end of indigo. Apparently, he was the guy who decided to contact her. In the message, he explained the current situation further. She suddenly understood. The commander had even attached a picture of one member of the species they had focused on. Its anatomy, expression, and even hive were obscenely Alternian. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought that it was a peach-skinned troll with his horns sawed off and weird white eyes.

Because, obviously, she _did_ know better. The previous message had included standard information about the planet, and its exact location. The picture wasn’t fake. The empress decided to contact the blueblood guy. But that meant that she would need to type fancy. Uuugh.

\--)(er Imperious Condescension [)(IC] started messaging nerbarEzumel [NE] at 23:58--

)(IC: Shello, Commander

NE: O# my, it is suc# an #onor, #ig#ness.

)(IC: Yeah yeah, W)(AT—EV-ER

)(IC: I don’t have no time for this now

)(IC: Who is responsible of finding out all this

NE: It was cadet Vantas, your #ig#ness.

)(IC: Vantas? ...I don’t know the guy, fill me in

NE: Low burgundy, male, around eig#t solar sweeps old, and #e is in base SL612 like myself, #ig#ness.

)(IC: Solaris huh

NE: Yes, t#at is t#e s#ip’s non-tec#nical, #ig#ness.

)(IC: My descendant’s there too

NE: Are you talking about the young #eiress, your #ig#ness?

)(IC: Yeah

)(IC: I don’t get why the lil shit wanted so D—ESP—ERAT—E—ELY to go in a ship full a

)(IC: UG)(

)(IC: She should have stayed here and learn how to RUL-E, but NOOO

)(IC: Anywaves

)(IC: )(ave you organized an expedition group yet

NE: I was going to do so after sorting out t#e possible candidates, #ig#ness.

)(IC: You don’t have to anymore

)(IC: I’m doing it for you

)(IC: Or rather, Feferi will

)(IC: The only condition is that she and the Vantas kid have to go

)(IC: I don’t care about the others, that clear

NE: Absolutely, #ig#ness. S#all I proceed?

)(IC: Yeah, tell em

)(IC: I hope to sea progress soon, Commander

\--)(er Imperious Condescension [)(IC] ceased messaging nerbarEzumel [NE] at 00:12--

Alright, done.  It had been tiring to remember how to address people officially, and a royal pain in the ass to type in semi-decent grammar, but nonetheless The Condesce was quite pleased with the result of that conversation. Feferi had always been quite the insubordinate kind, and if she wasn’t willing to cooperate, she could always get killed by some aliens in a first contact mission that she wasn’t ready to do. Not with her short training and infinite stubbornness. And if that death was followed by some burgundy kid’s, all the better! Vantas felt oddly familiar though... whatever, she didn't want to think about it. It just felt right for that kid to disappear.

Confident in her decision, she left her office to find a more comfortable armchair to nap on.

 

“I do believe that you shouldn’t feel responsible about it, Karkat” The mature Virgo’s voice resonated in the empty theater. Kanaya was an aspiring slashsurgeon, and she had found an unused operating room in the medical aisle for them to talk comfortably in. There wasn’t a pile of anything in it, but at least it was private. “You had little choice on the matter. It was either that or hiding it, which could get you in trouble”

“I know, it’s just… gah, he seemed to know me! He seemed to know us, Kanaya. He even mentioned you” Karkat ran a hand through his already messy hair. “And I don’t think he was lying.”

A familiar voice distracted both trolls. It seemed to speak with an unheard interlocutor “Um, yes, I think they are here… No, you shouldn’t enter-” The other voice became clearer as fast footsteps were heard. “Uugh, just get out of the way, Tavros! I don’t even know why I let you come with me” “You, uh, know that I am curious too…” And then, without another reply, the door flung open. Karkat hurried to put his shades on.

“I’m soooooooo sorry to interrupt your little moment, but are the rumors true?” A very determined Vriska Serket asked, eyeing them as if they were her prey.

“May I ask what rumors are you talking about, Vriska?” Kanaya replied to her former moirail and flushed interest.

“I’ve been told that apparently I’ve got fans in an unknown planet!” She smirked, folding her arms. She was clearly amused by the whole situation.

“Who told you that?” Karkat inquired, suspicious.

“Namuna did. The whoooooooole ship is already gossiping about it! No one thought that someone like you could ever find their way to the toilet block, let alone a new species.” Great. Lots of unwanted attention. “So, what did it say about me?”

“Why should I tell you?” Karkat stood up, folding his arms as well. Tavros, who was standing behind the Scorpio, almost looked like he was ready to stand between them, despite his hesitant expression.

“Oh, are you hiding important information to a highblood?” Vriska‘s grin grew wider, but she had a point. They weren’t pupas anymore, if she wanted to she could cull him. She had the upper hand in the situation and she knew it.

“Fine. “ Karkat grumbled, tired of being pointed out that he wasn’t an equal anymore. “He only mentioned you, and said something about you being dead, and hoping that you came to life again. It didn’t make any sense, almost looked like he was red for you.”

“…what?” Vriska’s teasing attitude was replaced with confusion. She wasn’t used at people expressing that kind of concern about her, even if the circumstances about it were that weird. “Dead…? Did he say something else? It was a he, right?”

“At least he looked like it. And yeah, he mentioned Kanaya” The Virgo nodded, already knowing it. “And two other people, Meenah and Aranea. I’ve got no idea as of who these are.”

“…Aranea?” All color drained off Vriska’s face. “That’s not possible.”

“Are you alright, Vriska?” Kanaya questioned.

“That alien couldn’t have met an Aranea, because she’s been dead for thousands of sweeps.” She looked around to make sure that nobody else was listening. “That was my ancestor’s name”

“…what? I thought she was Spinneret Mindfang…” Tavros had surely never heard about an Aranea before.

“That wasn’t her real name, shit-for-sponge. She hated to be called by her real name, so she made that one up.” Then, she added “No one knows about this. She barely mentioned it in her journal”

“Now, that does certainly sound strange” Kanaya observed. The situation seemed to get weirder by the minute.

“That’s it. I have to know this alien. I’ll convince the commander to let me join the first expedition.” Vriska stated, determined.

“But Vriska… it’s an unknown planet, it could be danger-” Tavros tried to reason, but was interrupted.

“Do I look like I care? Besides, I’ve got all of the luck, remember? All of it! I always have. Soooooooo now I have to find the commander. See you later, losers!” And with that she was gone as quickly as she came.

“I’m sorry, guys. See you at lunch” The brownblood sighed, and left as well.

“At least he took a different direction… sometimes the guy looks like her shadow” Karkat muttered when he was alone again with his moirail.

“Yes, their situation is quite confusing indeed.” The Virgo observed. “There are times where it seems like they could be moirails, but on the other hand they could very well be caliginous, if Vriska wasn’t with Terezi already-”  A beep interrupted her.

“Oops, sorry, Kanaya.”  Karkat checked on his wristcrab, and swallowed hard. “Shit.”

“Is there something wrong?” She asked, blinking.

“Yeah. Peixes and I have to go to that damn planet. She gets to choose the rest of the crew, but we’re forced to go.” He was paling more and more by the second, as the implications sunk in. He continued reading “Fuck… we… will have the ‘honor’ to meet Her Condescension before departing.”

“Oh dear.”


End file.
